Indian Farming January 2022

For the second successive year, Covid-19 pandemic is playing havoc for the world,
India in particular. Indian agriculture has progressed tremendously on every front
despite the pandemic. Thanks to the government policies, initiatives and untiring efforts
of our scientists, farmers and other stakeholders. Share of gross value added by agriculture
was estimated at ` 19.48 lakh crore in 2020, which is 17.8% compared to other sectors. In
India, total food grain production was recorded at 296.65 million tonnes in 2020 which is
11.44 million tonnes more compared with 285.11 million tonnes in 2019. For the year 2022,
the government has set a target for farmers to increase food grain production by 2% i.e.
to 307.31 million tonnes. In 2021, production was recorded at 303.34 million against a
target of 301 million tonnes.
India has the highest livestock population of about 535.78 million, which is around 31%
of the world livestock population. Milk production in the country was 198 MT in 2020.
India is the second highest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton, groundnut, and
fruits and vegetables in the world. The Indian food industry is assured for huge growth
due to its enormous potential for value addition, specially within the food processing
industry. Indian food and grocery market is sixth largest market in the world, with retail
contributing 70% of sales. The Indian food processing industry has grabbed 32% of the
country?s total food market. In India, the processed food market is expected to grow to
` 3,41,352.5 crore by 2025 as compared to ` 1,931,288.7 crore in 2020. The organic food
segment in India will grow at a CAGR of 10% between 2015?25 and is estimated to reach
` 75,000 crore by 2025 as against ` 2,700 crore in 2015. In 2019, Coca Cola launched ?Rani
Float? fruit juices.
Two diagnostic kits developed by ICAR-IVRI and the Japanese Encephalitis IgM ELISA
were launched in 2019. Investment of ` 8,500 crore has been declared for ethanol production
in India. In 2021, APEDA signed an MoU with ICAR-CCRI, Nagpur, for increasing export
of citrus and its value-added products. In 2021, the Prime Minister launched 35 crop
varieties with special traits such as climate resilience and higher nutrient content. The
government has initiated Digital Agriculture Mission for 2021?25 for agriculture projects
based on new technologies such as artificial intelligence, block chain, remote sensing and
GIS technology, drones, robots and others. The Krishi UDAN 2.0 scheme proposes
assistance and incentive for movement of agri-produce by air transport. India looks forward
to achieve the ambitious goal of doubling farmer?s income by 2022.